SOLAS

SOLAS is the foundation of ship safety regulation. Its origins lie in the loss of the Titanic in 1912, and the version in force today dates from 1974, amended many times since. A ship must comply with SOLAS to trade internationally, and the convention is enforced by flag states through surveys and safety certificates and by Port State Control officers who inspect foreign ships in port.

The convention is organised into chapters that between them touch almost every aspect of a ship's safety. They cover subdivision and stability so a damaged ship stays afloat; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection, detection and extinction; life-saving appliances such as lifeboats, liferafts and their launching arrangements; radiocommunications under the GMDSS; and the safety of navigation, including the carriage of charts, ECDIS and voyage data recorders. Further chapters govern the carriage of cargoes and dangerous goods, and ship security through the ISPS Code, which was added after 2001.

SOLAS is the reason behind much of what seafarers do routinely. The weekly and monthly drills for fire and abandon ship, the muster lists posted around the accommodation, the servicing of lifeboats and liferafts, the maintenance of firefighting systems, and the safety certificates that must be current for the ship to sail all trace back to its requirements. Two chapters that watchkeepers meet constantly are the safety-of-navigation rules and the fire and life-saving requirements. SOLAS works alongside MARPOL, which addresses pollution, and STCW, which sets the standards for training and certification of the crew, so that together the three conventions cover the safe, clean and competent operation of ships across every flag and trade in the world.